Book Recommendations for Geeky-But-Busy Book Club
May 4, 2023 12:11 AM Subscribe
I'm in a new book club, and looking for book recs. The two main criteria. One: it's a geeky group that likes puzzles, so sci-fi, mysteries, historical fiction, etc. are good -- BUT two: people are busy, so it can't be too involved or difficult (no Eco, probably; no House of Leaves, nerds). The criteria are kind of at odds so I'm looking for books in the sweet spot.
Last month's book: Klara and the Sun. This went over well because there is sort of a mystery to it. (IYKYK.)
This month's book: Gideon the Ninth. I think this will go over well because it's got a mystery aspect and a world to wonder about.
I was thinking of recommending Shadow of the Torturer but I'm worried it might be too long/difficult. A lot of normal scifi is NO BUENO I think, (e.g. Neal Stephenson) -- because it's too straightforward IMHO.
I am thinking of The Traitor Baru Cormorant but I haven't actually read it and don't know its qualities, I just know some people love it.
I do not want to re-read JS&MN or Piranesi.
To re-iterate the criteria are:
1. Evocative/imaginative, yet stands up to thought, of has a mystery element; there's a there there.
2. Not too long/challenging.
Last month's book: Klara and the Sun. This went over well because there is sort of a mystery to it. (IYKYK.)
This month's book: Gideon the Ninth. I think this will go over well because it's got a mystery aspect and a world to wonder about.
I was thinking of recommending Shadow of the Torturer but I'm worried it might be too long/difficult. A lot of normal scifi is NO BUENO I think, (e.g. Neal Stephenson) -- because it's too straightforward IMHO.
I am thinking of The Traitor Baru Cormorant but I haven't actually read it and don't know its qualities, I just know some people love it.
I do not want to re-read JS&MN or Piranesi.
To re-iterate the criteria are:
1. Evocative/imaginative, yet stands up to thought, of has a mystery element; there's a there there.
2. Not too long/challenging.
Here are two books of short stories that I heartily and fully recommend. Mysterious, science-adjacent, imaginative. I read both in book clubs, and they were well-received & provoked discussion.
1. Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
2. Orange World by Karen Russell
posted by lulu68 at 12:24 AM on May 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
1. Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
2. Orange World by Karen Russell
posted by lulu68 at 12:24 AM on May 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
I just finished reading Richard Osman's series that starts with The Thursday Murder Club and really loved them, much more than I expected. They're written in a light style with deeper currents and the writer has a lot of affection for his characters. They reminded me a little bit of After Life.
posted by Rhedyn at 12:25 AM on May 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Rhedyn at 12:25 AM on May 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
If you want to read a Wolfe book, I'd maybe recommend 5th Head of Cerberus - much shorter than BotNS but it has a lot of the mysterious/puzzle elements of Wolfe's writing. Some of the novellas are also good options - Seven American Nights for instance.
Other SF/fantasy I'd recommend (both short) - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, and Engine Summer by John Crowley.
posted by crocomancer at 12:56 AM on May 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
Other SF/fantasy I'd recommend (both short) - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, and Engine Summer by John Crowley.
posted by crocomancer at 12:56 AM on May 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
Blake Crouch may fit the bill - fast and accessible sci-fi thrillers, but with enough meat on the bones to dig into. I think Dark Matter is his best.
posted by matrixclown at 1:00 AM on May 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by matrixclown at 1:00 AM on May 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Some recommendations for involving, mysterious reads in a fast and accessible style:
Alias Grace or the Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
Gillespie and I by Jane Harris
I strongly recommend this to anyone who fancies a good, meaty historical mystery - and everything doesn't get tied up in a neat little bow afterwards, so there'll be lots to discuss for your book club.
Anything by Sarah Waters, but Affinity and The Little Stranger are particularly twisty and mysterious.
I think what all these books have in common is that there is a bit of work for the reader to do and gaps within the narrative which you can all work together to fill.
posted by unicorn chaser at 1:10 AM on May 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Alias Grace or the Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
Gillespie and I by Jane Harris
I strongly recommend this to anyone who fancies a good, meaty historical mystery - and everything doesn't get tied up in a neat little bow afterwards, so there'll be lots to discuss for your book club.
Anything by Sarah Waters, but Affinity and The Little Stranger are particularly twisty and mysterious.
I think what all these books have in common is that there is a bit of work for the reader to do and gaps within the narrative which you can all work together to fill.
posted by unicorn chaser at 1:10 AM on May 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Never Let Me Go would be perfect if you don't mind another book by Ishiguro.
Piranesi seems like a great fit but you already read it.
Seconding The Handmaid's Tale.
For goth nerdy- We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Sea of Tranquility- sci-fi
Kindred- history/sci-fi
Stepford Wives
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - modern fiction about video game developers
posted by emd3737 at 1:52 AM on May 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Piranesi seems like a great fit but you already read it.
Seconding The Handmaid's Tale.
For goth nerdy- We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Sea of Tranquility- sci-fi
Kindred- history/sci-fi
Stepford Wives
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - modern fiction about video game developers
posted by emd3737 at 1:52 AM on May 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
This Is How You Lose the Time War is pretty good if you want short, easy to read, twisty sci-fi.
The Goblin Emperor is world building and intrigue and very readable.
The Yiddish Policeman's Union is an incredibly well-written detective story set in an alternative history of the presetn day, that I love pretty unreservedly.
The Rivers of London series of novels are urban fantasy (detectives + magic) and might work well.
The Merchant Princes series by Charles Stross, starting with The Family Trade, is a slightly left-field one. It's a series, so may not be great for a book club, but it's world-building with some some interesting thought experiments in terms of "if you were a realistic character, albeit with a recently discovered super skill, thrust into a fantasy world, how could you use your knowledge of capitalism to thrive".
If you want something that's evocative and challenging and where there's a there there, I think everybody should read Patrick O'Brian, specifically Master and Commander. It's historical fiction at it's finest, it throws you in (nicely) at the deep end, so you'll be puzzling out how boats and sails and rigging works, they're funny, wise, well-written, easy to read, informative, and the Aubrey–Maturin series is probably one of favourite things of the 20th Century.
posted by Hartster at 1:55 AM on May 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
The Goblin Emperor is world building and intrigue and very readable.
The Yiddish Policeman's Union is an incredibly well-written detective story set in an alternative history of the presetn day, that I love pretty unreservedly.
The Rivers of London series of novels are urban fantasy (detectives + magic) and might work well.
The Merchant Princes series by Charles Stross, starting with The Family Trade, is a slightly left-field one. It's a series, so may not be great for a book club, but it's world-building with some some interesting thought experiments in terms of "if you were a realistic character, albeit with a recently discovered super skill, thrust into a fantasy world, how could you use your knowledge of capitalism to thrive".
If you want something that's evocative and challenging and where there's a there there, I think everybody should read Patrick O'Brian, specifically Master and Commander. It's historical fiction at it's finest, it throws you in (nicely) at the deep end, so you'll be puzzling out how boats and sails and rigging works, they're funny, wise, well-written, easy to read, informative, and the Aubrey–Maturin series is probably one of favourite things of the 20th Century.
posted by Hartster at 1:55 AM on May 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
I wish to join this book club!
A Psalm for the Wild Built and A Prayer for the Crown Shy by Becky Chambers would work well in your group.
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi is quick, fun, read.
Kind of surprised no one has recommended the Murderbot books by Martha Wells.
I recommend either Noor or Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor. Don’t let them being afro-futurism scare you away. They’re both great reads.
Ann Leckie’s Imperial Radch trilogy is a great series, starting with Ancillary Justice.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:56 AM on May 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
A Psalm for the Wild Built and A Prayer for the Crown Shy by Becky Chambers would work well in your group.
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi is quick, fun, read.
Kind of surprised no one has recommended the Murderbot books by Martha Wells.
I recommend either Noor or Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor. Don’t let them being afro-futurism scare you away. They’re both great reads.
Ann Leckie’s Imperial Radch trilogy is a great series, starting with Ancillary Justice.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:56 AM on May 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
Links below to Goodreads, which has problems but I feel generally gives a reasonable approximation of how readable a broad range of people find a book:
The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal. (This one has cocktail ideas and is sort of a homage to The Thin Man series, so if your club ever wants to do a fun movie night in conjunction with a book, this would be great for that.)
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Morena-Garcia.
The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi.
Gailey and Morena-Garcia both have a couple books I think might work for your group, but the above would be my first recs.
And a couple that are fairly short but might be a little more difficult to get into than you want.
The City & the City by China Miéville.
Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff Vandermeer.
posted by the primroses were over at 5:06 AM on May 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal. (This one has cocktail ideas and is sort of a homage to The Thin Man series, so if your club ever wants to do a fun movie night in conjunction with a book, this would be great for that.)
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Morena-Garcia.
The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi.
Gailey and Morena-Garcia both have a couple books I think might work for your group, but the above would be my first recs.
And a couple that are fairly short but might be a little more difficult to get into than you want.
The City & the City by China Miéville.
Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff Vandermeer.
posted by the primroses were over at 5:06 AM on May 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty is a space ship murder mystery that I remember really enjoying.
posted by esker at 5:24 AM on May 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by esker at 5:24 AM on May 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
Science fiction: I found Planetfall by Emma Newman, and its three companion volumes After Atlas, Before Mars and Atlas Alone, very thought-provoking (and very good). They all stand well enough alone that I think you could pick whichever sounds like the best fit, although as the author says, Atlas Alone is a direct sequel to After Atlas and would be enhanced by having read its predecessor first.
Crime fiction: Keigo Higashino writes twisty, satisfying mysteries. My first choice would be Malice, a locked-room puzzle involving the death of a novelist, but they're all good.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 6:01 AM on May 4, 2023
Crime fiction: Keigo Higashino writes twisty, satisfying mysteries. My first choice would be Malice, a locked-room puzzle involving the death of a novelist, but they're all good.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 6:01 AM on May 4, 2023
Last Exit by Max Gladstone - a really interesting central conceit - what if you could travel between dimensions? and what if all other dimensions were worse? - and a really engaging set of characters. Possibly my favorite book last year.
Rose/House - a modern SF take on the Haunting of Hill House by Metafilter favorite Arkady Martine. Ebook only, the small-press hardcover is sold out. Dark, unsettling, and - this may be a bonus! - short, as it's a novella.
(Disclaimer, I am friends with both of these people, SF is a really small social scene.)
posted by restless_nomad at 6:25 AM on May 4, 2023
Rose/House - a modern SF take on the Haunting of Hill House by Metafilter favorite Arkady Martine. Ebook only, the small-press hardcover is sold out. Dark, unsettling, and - this may be a bonus! - short, as it's a novella.
(Disclaimer, I am friends with both of these people, SF is a really small social scene.)
posted by restless_nomad at 6:25 AM on May 4, 2023
Janelle Monae’s The Memory Librarian is a collaboration of interrelated short stories that build a striking image of a dystopic, near-future society and the people fighting against it. It’s afrofuturist/queer/feminist/inclusive/diverse throughout.
Being a collection of short stories would make it pretty easy for your group to nibble-away at, and it will absolutely inspire discussion.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:27 AM on May 4, 2023
Being a collection of short stories would make it pretty easy for your group to nibble-away at, and it will absolutely inspire discussion.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:27 AM on May 4, 2023
A Memory Called Empire is sci-fi cultural murder mystery via Arkady Martine.
posted by fast ein Maedchen at 9:35 AM on May 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by fast ein Maedchen at 9:35 AM on May 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
Paco Ignacio Taibo II: page-turny mysteries with existential and mildly fantastical elements.
posted by latkes at 10:49 AM on May 4, 2023
posted by latkes at 10:49 AM on May 4, 2023
Literally almost anything by Philip K. Dick would fit the bill.
posted by fellion at 11:58 AM on May 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by fellion at 11:58 AM on May 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'm seconding all of primrose's recommendations! A Memory Called Empire is also a masterwork.
I think you may enjoy the odd mystery at the center of Plum Rains by Andromeda Romano-Lax. It's a near future science fiction story about aging and identity and nursing and indigeniety and robots and immigration in Japan.
Far From the Light of Heaven is a locked-room murder mystery on a long haul sleeper ship. It has a good mystery element and some afrofuturist themes.
If you haven't already read The Fifth Season by N. k. Jemisin, it's a fantastic book and series that I think would work well for your group.
Finally I think P Djeli Clark has some good books that would fit. Ring Shout is a novella about fighting demons and the rise of the Klan in the 1930's in the American South. A Dead Djinn in Cairo is a murder mystery novel set in a magical alternate history Egypt.
posted by crossswords at 2:27 PM on May 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
I think you may enjoy the odd mystery at the center of Plum Rains by Andromeda Romano-Lax. It's a near future science fiction story about aging and identity and nursing and indigeniety and robots and immigration in Japan.
Far From the Light of Heaven is a locked-room murder mystery on a long haul sleeper ship. It has a good mystery element and some afrofuturist themes.
If you haven't already read The Fifth Season by N. k. Jemisin, it's a fantastic book and series that I think would work well for your group.
Finally I think P Djeli Clark has some good books that would fit. Ring Shout is a novella about fighting demons and the rise of the Klan in the 1930's in the American South. A Dead Djinn in Cairo is a murder mystery novel set in a magical alternate history Egypt.
posted by crossswords at 2:27 PM on May 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
I came here specifically to recommend Chambers and Clark. I picked up A Master of Djinn on a whim and am thoroughly enjoying it. Will definitely get myself more Clark books!
posted by humbug at 3:35 PM on May 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by humbug at 3:35 PM on May 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
P. Djeli Clark... A Dead Djinn in Cairo is a murder mystery novel
P. Djeli Clark is great, but I think you mean A Master of Djinn here. A Dead Djinn in Cairo does exist, but it looks to be a short story; Apple Books will happily sell me a copy, but it's only 32 pages long.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 8:53 AM on May 5, 2023
P. Djeli Clark is great, but I think you mean A Master of Djinn here. A Dead Djinn in Cairo does exist, but it looks to be a short story; Apple Books will happily sell me a copy, but it's only 32 pages long.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 8:53 AM on May 5, 2023
Baru fits your requirements; it is twisty but not impossible and all is explained in the end.
N'thing the recommendations for Ancillary Justice, Murderbot, and almost anything by China Mieville (Perdido Street Station is also a good one).
Stars Uncharted by SK Dunstall and Famous Men Who Never Lived by K Chess are also a solid scifi mysteries.
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August is more fantasy but it is compelling.
posted by esoterrica at 11:08 AM on May 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
N'thing the recommendations for Ancillary Justice, Murderbot, and almost anything by China Mieville (Perdido Street Station is also a good one).
Stars Uncharted by SK Dunstall and Famous Men Who Never Lived by K Chess are also a solid scifi mysteries.
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August is more fantasy but it is compelling.
posted by esoterrica at 11:08 AM on May 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by kandinski at 12:20 AM on May 4, 2023 [1 favorite]